A report from The Athletic on Tuesday afternoon broke the story that Crystal Palace are closing in on the signing of 19-year-old American starlet Zavier Gozo from sister club Real Salt Lake.  

The versatile right-sided attacker was born in 2007, and is highly tipped to become one of the USA’s future stars. Real Salt Lake is also owned by Palace co-owner David Blitzer, and that will be playing a role in the move. 

The report indicates that despite a deal not being completed, talks are progressing well and an agreement is set to be reached for around £11 million. Gozo’s breakthrough season so far this campaign. 

It would be disingenuous to suggest that I have watched Gozo beyond the highlight reels that have circulated Palace twitter during the evening following the news breaking. 

Therefore, I’ve enlisted the help of the man who created that exact montage, and an MLS fan who is extremely familiar with Zavier Gozo, Marty, aka Starsnstripesfc.

I asked Marty to tell me what Palace fans can expect from Gozo, and here’s what he had to say…

“I’ve watched him a lot. Right now, he’s most dangerous in transitions and on the counter. He is explosive in open space, and as you can see (from the highlights) he has all kinds of finishing ability with both feet.”

“He’s a right footed player first, but pretty two-footed. He is playing wide on the right as he struggles to beat players in 1v1s; his dribbling skills are lacking, but his touch is good enough. If you get him into space, he’s a killer.” 

The montage’s doing the rounds are extremely promising. Gozo demonstrates a unique range of technical finishes, including powerful driven shots, curling efforts off both his left and right foot, as well as acrobatic volleys too. 

“He’s still a bit raw, which probably contributes to his lack of success in 1v1s. He can pick out a pass or cross and has the IQ to play properly on the wing, or even as a striker. Watching his highlights, you’ll see that he makes runs in behind, I can see him developing into a centre forward if Palace wanted to go down that route.” 

There have been some questions raised over where Gozo actually plays, with many Palace fans questioning why the club are signing ‘another wingback’ and suggesting that could see Daniel Muñoz leave the club, but this doesn’t appear to be the case. 

“He has played a bit at wingback due to the formation that RSL plays, but I wouldn’t expect much in terms of defensive contribution. He’s almost always getting forward. I could see him putting in wingback shifts considering Palace’s formation, but he would need defensive cover tracking back.” 

An exciting, raw talent that has all the attributes to succeed and have a promising career, Gozo sounds like a great fit for Palace. 

I asked Marty where Gozo ranks in terms of young American prospects, and he placed him fourth behind the likes of Cavan Sullivan, Mathis Albert and Adri Mehmeti, but made it clear this was due to those three players being younger than the Palace target. 

Gozo was also included in the MLS All Stars team at the end of July, which Marty suggested was impressive considering his age, despite the game not being taken particularly seriously. 

In his 16 MLS games this season, Gozo has registered six goals and four assists, averaging 89 minutes per game, which demonstrates his importance to RSL despite his age. 

The statistics depict a confident player, not afraid to take on shots, averaging 3.3 per/90. 

There has also been discourse and disappointment in Palace’s attacking targets this Summer, but with none of the current crop of forwards leaving the club, there isn’t a real need to bring in starting quality in this area of the pitch. 

The hope should be that both Johnson and Strand Larsen can kick on this campaign, and with Pino, Sarr and Mateta still at the club and set for strong seasons, bringing in a new starting quality forward becomes a difficult task, especially without the clear path to starting. 

Palace also look set to lose Romain Esse, and with Mathues França’s future uncertain, reinvesting in more promising youth is a great step for Palace to continue their model. 

A huge thanks to Marty for his contributions to this piece, be sure to go and check out his page!